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School Is Closed

WASHINGTON, D.C. | October 15, 2015

Less than two months into the school year, Clay County, Tennessee, students and teachers are back at home – not for “Fall Break” – for the foreseeable future. That’s right. All three of the district’s schools are closed, forcing more than 1,000 students to lose valuable learning time. What contributed to the district’s decision? In large part, ObamaCare. As Clay County Director of Schools explained,

Clay County's inability to generate the revenue to offset the mandates is what's caused this to come to a head … The straw that broke the camel's back was really the Affordable Care Act for us and it has made it very difficult for us to have our employees properly covered and meet the mandates of the law.

The choice was to either close schools and deal with this now, or keep schools open and spend ourselves until we have nothing in our fund balance at all.

While shocking, it’s not exactly surprising. News reports, witness testimonies, and other public feedback have revealed the challenges ObamaCare and its costly, punitive mandates are creating for students, teachers, and school staff across the country – from kindergarten classrooms to colleges and universities. But the students and staff at Clay County’s schools are not the only people to pay the price for the president’s misguided healthcare law. As Chairman John Kline (R-MN) recently said,

We continue to hear reports and stories of families facing higher premiums or higher deductibles or both. Patients are losing access to their trusted doctors as insurance carriers squeeze provider networks to control costs. Meanwhile, workers and employers are struggling because of the law’s punitive rules and mandates.

That’s why the House continues its efforts to dismantle this flawed law and provide relief to the American people. Just last month, the Education and the Workforce Committee advanced a proposal to repeal one of ObamaCare’s many onerous mandates that will levy unnecessary costs on workers and job creators. The committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Budget are also leading this important effort. The American people expect Washington to address their priorities, and that is precisely what Congress is determined to do.

This week, we’re taking a look back at five ways we’ve made America better during the 115th Congress. Today we’re talking about providing health care options to millions of small business employees. h......
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